The Emperor breathed heavily. Today, the imperial throne felt more uncomfortable than ever.
No, perhaps it wasn't the throne he sat upon that was uncomfortable, but the person standing before him. Unlike himself, who seemed to shrink further with each passing year, his own son, who displayed ever more outstanding prowess with each day.
"Your Majesty, do you still trust the Crown Prince?"
At Heinri's impassive question, the Emperor's face twisted fiercely.
"Do you think I am unaware of your schemes!"
The veins bulged on his wrinkled hand gripping the armrest. It was an action that barely suppressed the urge to strike out immediately.
Heinri, who had been gazing intently at that sight, slowly blinked his eyes.
The Emperor began shouting to summon Baron Hason at once. The attendants waiting in the distance fidgeted nervously, glancing at Heinri for a cue.
Naturally, their actions only further fueled the Emperor's rage.
"How dare you ignore my command! Drag those insolent wretches out this instant!"
This time, the Emperor pointed a finger at the attendants. The attendants finally began to move, but the imperial guards acted faster.
"Y-Your Majesty!"
"Please forgive us!"
The attendants' clamorous cries grew fainter. Even in that situation, Heinri's expression remained composed.
The Emperor, who had hoped Heinri would feel at least a sliver of fear, grew even more displeased. He glared balefully at his son and raised his voice.
"Wretched creature! Do you truly believe I would appoint you Crown Prince, even if you act like this?"
"I am merely concerned for the safety of this empire; I have no other intentions."
"How dare you attempt to deceive me!"
There were many reasons for the Emperor's fury, but the greatest cause that had turned Heinri away was the Empress's presence.
Ever since the Empress, who had lived quietly her whole life tending to him, suddenly began attending central meetings and stepping forward as the eldest and decision-maker of the imperial palace.
Ever since rumors spread secretly that the Emperor's condition was so poor it required the Empress to step forward.
"Your Majesty, if you raise your voice, you may collapse again."
"Oh ho! So it was you who has been coveting my life!"
"It is not I who covets Your Majesty's life, but Baron Hason."
Heinri let out a shallow sigh.
"I hesitated to report it, fearing the shock might be too great for Your Majesty, but Baron Hason has been imprisoned in the imperial dungeon for commissioning Your Majesty's assassination."
"What?"
"Evidence has been secured. He tampered with Your Majesty's cup every teatime."
A faint shock passed over the Emperor's face. He had inwardly sensed his health deteriorating recently, but he had never imagined someone was truly harming his body.
And Baron Hason, of all people? Baron Hason was the aide he had kept closest and favored most in recent times.
"It has not been announced publicly yet, but Baron Hason has a backer. I am currently pursuing this unsettling movement that threatens the imperial palace."
Whether aware of the Emperor's gaze, filled with distrust, or not, Heinri meekly lowered his eyes and continued.
"According to the investigation, that backer is Lilia Roam's paramour."
"Lilia Roam?"
The unexpected name made him momentarily forget his anger. The Emperor raised his eyebrows, ruminating on the name he had heard.
Lilia Roam? The Crown Prince's fiancée?
"Yes, did I not report it previously? That Lilia Roam has been secretly meeting with men."
That was from a time when the Emperor wielded power without worry. Even Maxel had been present when Heinri made that report.
"I wonder if you recall. The Crown Prince desperately shielding her."
Perhaps because the memory was not so distant, the Emperor easily recalled that day.
"As I mentioned then, Lilia Roam was concealing assets not reported to the imperial family. It was she, after all, who advised the Crown Prince to form an extermination force."
"......"
The Emperor fell silent. He too knew that Lilia Roam had encouraged Maxel's will.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't disappointed to see Maxel relying on her more than expected, but he still considered it fortunate that Maxel, who had been disparaged with nonsense about being wicked or useless, had regained his spirit.
It even felt far better than Heinri bringing in external forces.
Yet, listening to Heinri's words now, he couldn't help but feel uneasy in a corner of his heart.
At the time, after receiving Heinri's report, the Emperor had immediately confirmed that Lilia Roam owned mines not reported to the imperial family.
He had also investigated and verified then that she indeed had connections with several men.
Heinri's words were true, a matter already confirmed long ago; he had simply refrained from issuing a disposition immediately out of consideration for Maxel.
"She is to become a member of the imperial family. There is no reason for her to conceal assets and secretly command people. Unless she has some other scheme."
"Another scheme?"
"Did you not see the video crystal capturing Roam abducting the Resurrected One?"
Tension entered the line of the Emperor's tightly pressed lips.
"Lilia Roam alone would be insignificant, but if the ambition involves Roam itself, the story changes. I heard the Duchess of Roam once desired to become a woman of the imperial family. Though it is a matter of the distant past, can resentment also be a thing of the past?"
It was none other than the Emperor who had prevented the Duchess of Roam from entering the imperial family. She was not from the humble family the Emperor desired, and her very temperament was not gentle.
The Emperor dredged up the faint traces of the past.
A woman who yearned for the imperial family. She desired the crown of Empress and did not hide that desire.
"Who is to say that, unable to obtain the crown she coveted, she might not be attempting to seduce the Crown Prince and overthrow the throne? I hear Duke Roam is utterly unable to oppose the Duchess."
The Duchess of Roam married Duke Roam, who cherished and loved her immensely. He thought that settled everything.
But thinking differently, isn't the Duchess of Roam wielding a man who grants her every wish as a weapon?
"If that is true, then their reason for opposing the Resurrected One is also understandable. The Resurrected One not only protected the imperial family from the Dullahan but also perceived Roam's wicked ambition and issued warnings. Come to think of it, I suspect Duke Roam informing me of Lilia Roam's hidden assets was also part of a scheme."
The Emperor remained silent. What else could he say?
"And this... is something I have just obtained. In truth, I came to show you this."
What Heinri presented was a video crystal. Even before seeing it, the Emperor felt he knew what it contained.
The Emperor's gaze pierced the video crystal. The shining crystal projected a scene. No sound was heard.
But it was impossible not to understand the situation.
The extermination force knelt before the vicious Dullahan's sword. Innocent nobles of the empire screamed in terror.
"Let me ask once more, Your Majesty."
Heinri's low voice reached him.
"Do you still trust the Crown Prince?"
The Emperor did not answer.
* * *
That the proxy of death granted freedom to the created beings did not mean their journey was always peaceful.
It began from a disadvantaged position from the start. Many targeted them, and the twelve knights had always fought against enemies.
Those they met on the road sometimes welcomed death's mercy, and sometimes rejected it.
Until the second knight, Dearis, established a nation and secured a position, the days were filled with encountering inscrutable counterparts.
Well, how could all of this be called merely merciful? Is granting unwanted freedom truly an act of mercy?
Soana refused to be a plaything of the gods. She had no regrets about that choice. But she did not think this was absolute justice.
Of course, apart from all such musings, this victory was a fortunate thing.
"They retreated?"
Soana raised her gaze. Anelli and Tristan were visible a short distance away. Tristan, in the form of a bumblebee, had completed a full reconnaissance using the surrounding insects.
[Yes! Confirmed they are in full retreat!]
Maxel, who had struggled desperately to capture even a single Dullahan, had ultimately given up.
It was also because he could not overcome the Dullahan's overwhelming strength, but that wasn't the only reason. The humans facing the Dullahan were consistently gripped by fear.
The soldiers had rushed forward as if to at least try something against the Lizardmen, but they couldn't even do that much against the Dullahan.
「Oh God! Please have mercy!」
They trembled, crying out to some unspecified god, and then just ran away.
Soana felt a peculiar emotion whenever she recalled that sight.
Hadn't the Dullahan been known to the soldiers as cursed creatures that must be vanquished?
No matter how fearsome their appearance, what was there to be so terrified of?
"Now we should be able to travel more comfortably."
Anelli, who had readily sent off Pallides to retrieve the hidden carriage, moved about checking on each Dullahan one by one.
And finally, her gaze reached Soana.
"Are you hurt?"
Her tone was somewhat drier, a little different from when she tended to the other Dullahan. Yet her eyes meticulously scanned Soana's body.
[......They could not even properly attack us.]
"Ah, that's true."
Seeing Anelli nod as if it were obvious only amplified Soana's bewilderment.
[Some could not even look at us.]
"Really? I was in the rear, so I didn't notice that."
[I do not understand.]
Anelli, who hadn't even been looking at Soana's face, raised her eyes at those words.
"What?"
[Why they displayed such... behavior.]
Anelli, who had been making a puzzled expression, let out a low exclamation at those words. Then she replied in a nonchalant tone.
"Obviously because they're scared. Isn't it plain from how they ran off?"
Not everyone runs away just because they are scared.
Even now, Soana thought those who retreated might return at any moment leading an even larger army.
They were defeated by the Dullahan, and the Dullahan are creatures abandoned by God, so they are beings that must be exterminated!
But Anelli seemed completely unperturbed by such thoughts, appearing calm and even somewhat at ease.
[But isn't the world calling the Dullahan a rampant evil?]
"Hmm. Right. You all are a kind of calamity to them."
[Then wouldn't it be right for them to confront us?]
At Soana's question, Anelli let out a faint, puckish smile.
"Soana, confronting a rampant evil is not their role."
Anelli shrugged her shoulders slightly and spoke in a peaceful tone, as if explaining a self-evident truth.
"You said it yourself. That my fame is high as God's Resurrected One. You all are under my jurisdiction. Anytime, anywhere."
At those words, Soana felt as if she had been struck on the back of the head.
The enemy's fear, which she hadn't understood, became clear in an instant.
"They will now desperately seek me out and beg. 'Please deal with those vicious, terrifying Dullahan.' Because that's how they interpreted the oracle."
Anelli smiled brightly.
"So, whoever opposes the Resurrected One will face the world's censure."